Controlling device for the electric ignition systems of internal-combustion engines.



I". H. IIUYIJL CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR THE ELECTRIC IGNITION SYSTEMS OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

' APPLICATION FILED IULY24. I9I5.

1,163,692. Patented Dec 14, 1915.

3 SHEET5--SHEET I.

WITNESSES.

madam @22 1 Blarney.

I. H. ROYCE.

CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR THE ELECTRIC IGNITION SYSTEMS OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24.1915

1,163,692. Patented Dec. 14, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES. lNllT/ fifglgggce Atto ra ey.

F. H. ROYCE.

CONTFIOLLING DEVICE FOR THE ELECTRIC IGNITION SYSTEMS OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE APPLICATION FILED IULY 24.1915.

1,163,692. Patented Dec. 14, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 6v Fig.

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CONTROLLING DEVICE FOR THE ELECTRIC IGNITION EN GLAND.

EiYSTEMS OF INTERNAL- COMBUSTI N ENGINES.

Application filed July 24, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that}, FREDERICK .l-lnxnr Rove-n, a subject of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, and residing at Nightingale Road, Osmaston Road, Derby, England, have invented a new and useful linprovement in Controlling Devices for the .Electric Ignition Systems of Internal-Comin combination with ignition devices for the purpose of automatically varying the timing of the ignition, but such have not proved en 1 tirely satisfactory owing to their lack of sensitiveness due to the excessive work put upon them; My-invention not only overcomes this difiiculty-bnt'provides aready means of giv ing an initial advance to the ignition nmne diatelythe engine has begun to function in its normal manner. It is well-known that it is desirable and in some cases essential to retard the ignition before starting up an engine, and immediately afterward to mod erately advance the ignition. This amount of advance I call the initial amount, any further advance being proportional to the speed of the engine. f

In previous mechanisms for automatically controlling the ignition the governor has been employed to operate to move the ignition from its position of maximum retard through its whole range, and'tl'ierefore the whole of the advance has been proportional to the engine speed; an initial advancein this case being impossible.

According to the present invention, the governor instead of actuating the ignition timing device directly is arranged to actu ate a valve which controls the admission and said oil is pressure-fed as this enables the control to be so arranged that failure of the pressure in said lubricating system will Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented, Bee. i4. i915;

Serial No. 41,7 35v tomatical' operate to retard the time of ignition so as to reduce the speed of the e115 gine to a. minimum.

In the a oinpanying drawing which illus trates this invention:-Figu1e 1 is a View in section showing the governor, the fluid pres sure cylinder with its piston and connection to the governor and the controlling valifel and its connections, the various parts being shown in imaginary positions for the salie'of t5. distinctncss. Fig. 2 is a broken view in plan showing the couplii'igbetween the 'iiston'off the fluid pressure cylinder and the low coupled 'ith the timing nice of the ig'nl tion system. is a diagrammatic \'ie'\'\' "7o showing the application of this invention to a dua ignition U811! comprising a higlii terr'ion n1" gncto unit and a battery and coil" device. th+ control gear of these two systems being inler-ronnccted Fig 4 is a hrolzen 'l view partly in section showing a convcriieiit meciianism for advai'ieing and retarding th 1' contact maker and breaker employed lll fi battery and coil ignition system, Fig. 5. is broken view in sectional elevation showing the position of the controlling parts of' the' mechanism when the pressure. has fallen'to' ero and the engine is stopped, Fig' 6 is'z. sunilar view showing the position of'the same, parts when the engine has beenstar'te and runnin at such a speed that theio il' nrcssnre will mov the piston sullicientlyto? e the desired initial advance, and Fig:

a similar view showing the same parts in. position of maxii'num advance, the valve-9o ,orts being under the control of the gov' is, mounted on a shaft which runs in sui able lmarings carried by a casing strid 10o. shafi being driven from the engine through-E a train of gear whe ls which thefina'lone 3/ only is shown. inaction of the governor imparts longituinal motion to slidi sleeve Z mounted concentricallyon 1'65. anti in relation to the shaft L. Thissleeve'; is coupled to an axially arranged spindle bi means of suitahle coupling in and said pi n r tating while nai ioveinent by means of an arm mounted on the spindle:

and engaging by means of a finger c" with a slot 8 in a plate or disk .9 carried by the casing .70.

Mounted on the casing as in concentric relation to the shaft Z: and spindle c is a single acting cylinder u the piston f of which has a hollow rod or trunk h, the forward endof which lying \iithin the cylinder 6 is closed and the back end of which lyingwithiii an extension 1: of the cylinder e 1s open, said back end being supported and guided in said extension. In the forward end of the cylinder is a spring 9 which acts on the piston f to force it toward the back or working end of the cylinder. The spindle 0 passes through the closed end of the hollow piston rod or trunk h by means of a suitable stuffing box or gland h and carries within said hollow rod or trunk a double-acting sleeve valve m. The extension e of the cylinder 6 terminates in a chamber 0 into which the pressure fluid is admitted through the passage 6 The interior of the valve in and the closed end of the" hollow rod or trunk 72, are in communication with thechamber e" by means of holes it in said. valve whereby the pressure on the valve m is balanced.

In the hollow rod or trunk k are three ports n n and 12 the first two of which (n and n) put the forward or. non-working end of the cylinder 0 into communication with the back or workingend of said cylinder through theinterior of the hollow rod or trunk la, and the third of which (113) puts the baekor working end of the cylinder into communication with the extension e thereof. These ports are controlled by the doubleacting valve in, the port n by thefor ward part m of. the valve, and the ports n and n by the re-a r part m of said valve.

In the forward or non-workii'ig end of the cylinder 0 in any convenient position (not shown in the drawings) is an outletfor the pressure fluid, andbetween the back or working end of the cylinder 0 and the chamber e is a. passage 0 which is closed by a suitable ball or other type of non-return valve 0, the function of which is to insure that the pressure in the working part of the cylinder 6 never exceeds the pressure n the delivery pipe of the chamber 6".

Mounted in suitable hearings in the easing is a shaft '1- which is connected by arms 'rand links rwith the rod or trunk h of the piston f, said shaft carrying exwit h a. slotted lever 2 A veiiient fixed part and having its other end It will be seen that the port 1) will be entirely cut off after a further slight rearward movement of the piston f when the ballvalve 0 will come into operation to relieve the pressure remaining in the working end of the cylinder due to the reduction of the pressure in the chamber e owing to the reduced speed of the engine and the ignition will be retarded to its maximum by means of the spring g.

The operation of the governor and control valve when starting the engine is as follows :\Vith theengine at rest the piston f occupies the position of maximum retard, as shown in Fig. 5. In this position the ports n and n are open to-the chamber (5 and therefore immediately the engine starts oil pressure is exerted on the piston f through these ports against the action-of the spring g;-th e piston f therefore together with the trunk it will move until the ports n and n? are cut off by the rear portion m of the valve m. This movement of the piston constitutes the initial advance, ,and for anv further increase in the engine speed the va ve ports n and n are controlled entirely v.

by the centrifugal governor which insures the advance being proportional to the en-' gine speed.

It will be seen that should the lubricating oil pressure system fail the pmssure in the working part of the cylinder e would lift the valve 0 and by putting said part of the cylinder into communication with the Cl'liiTIi-' ber e through the passage 0-in which the pressure has fallen, thereby reduce the pressure in the working part of the cylinder so Q- as to enable the spring 9 to force the piston backward and thus' retard-the timing device of the ignition.

It is well-known that varying strengths of combustible mixture in the combustion chamber of an engine require a correspond: ing variationin the ignition timing.- Weak mixtures require considerable.advanoe, and to enable the ignition device or'devices to be set by hand to suit these varying strengths ofcombustible mixture I couple the lever 15 to the timing devieeor devices by means. of adjustable link work operated by the'usiial steering wheel control. Fig. 3 of the aecompanying drawings shows diagrammatically a suitable arrangement of link-work to.

attain this end, and forthe purpose of illustration devices for two ignition systems are shown, The lever t of'tl e. automatic governor control is coupled bya suitable link I coupled by means of links 3 and l to the arinsof two bell-crank lovers 5 and (3. the

former of-which is coupled by means o. the

link 7 to the rocking arm 8 of the magneto z and the other of which (6) is'conple-d by means of the link 9 to the distributer y pivoted to a con I of the battery ignition. The position of the the slot of said lever by means of a link 11 pin 10 by which the link Z is coupled to the slotted lever'2 is capable of being varied in and bell-crank 12 which is coupled to the control lever 13 on the steering wheel by any suitable. mechanism. Instead of making one part of the distributer y to rock with respect to the other as is usually done, I prefer to drive the distributer by means which will allow its angularity to be varied. A well-known construction is that illustrzited which consists of a sleeve 18 which engages both theshaft 15 and a sleeve carrying the driving wheel 14 by means of longitudinally and spirally arranged keyways oritheir equivalents, longitudinal motion bein}; imparted to said sleeve by means of a lever 16 which is connected by link-work w th a rocking lever 19 which engages a v groove 20 in the exterior of said sleeve.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to 'secureby Letters Patent is:-

1'. In electric ignition apparatus for internal combustion engines, the combination c with the timing device, of a cylinder having anf'extensioniat its rear end and an outlet in its front end, a piston working in said cylind'er under fluid'pressnre in one direction and under the pressure of a spring in the ,opposite direction, 'a hollow rod or trunk carried'by said piston, a coupling between said rod "or trunk and the timing gear of the ignition system, means for the admission of the fluid 'pressure to the extension of the cylinder, a port in said hollow piston rod or trunk on the non-working side. of said piston, .two ports in said hollow piston rod v or trunk on the working side of said piston,

a piston or sleeve valve working in the hollow piston IOdvOI trunk and operating in conjunction with the ports in said rod or trunk to control the flow of the fluid pressure to and from the working end of the cylinder, and a centrifugal governor coupled to said piston or sleeve valve.

2. In electric ignition apparatus for internal combustion engines having a forced or pressure lubricating system, the combination with the timing device, of a cylinder having an extension at its rear end and an outlet in its front end, a piston working in said cylinder under the pressure of the forced lubricating system in one direction and under the pressure of a spring in the opposite direction, a hollow rod or trunk carried by said piston, a coupling between said rod or trunk and the timing gear of the ignition system, means for the admission of the pressure of thelnbricating system to the extension of the cylinder, a port in said hollow piston rod or trunk on the non-working side of said piston, two ports in said hollow piston rod or trunk on the working side of said piston, a piston 0r sleeve yalve workof the cylinder, and a centrifugal governor coupled to said piston or sleeve valve.

3. In electric ignition apparatus for internal combustion engines having a forced or pressure lubricating system, the combination with the timing device, of a cylinder having an extension at its rear end and an outlet in its front end. a piston working in said cylinder under the pressure of the forced lubricatin, system in one direction and under the pressure of a spring in the op posite direction, a hollow rod or trunk can ried by said piston. a coupling between said rod .or trunk and the timing gear of the ignition system. means for the admission of the pressure of the forced lubricating system to the extension of the c vlinder,.a port in said hollow piston rod or trunk-on the non-workin said rod or trunk to control the flow of the fluid pressure to and from .theworking end of the cylinder. a. centrifugal governor coupled to said piston or sleeve valve, and

means for automatically causing the piston in the cylinder to operate to retard the timing gear of the ignition it andwhcn the pres sure in the lubricatingsystem falls.

4. In an internal combustion engine the combination with two electric ignition systems the one a magneto and the other a battery and coil. of a cylinder having an extension at its rear end and an outlet in its front end. a piston working in said cylinder under fluid pressure in one. direction and under the pressure of a spring in the 'opposite direction, a hollow rod or trunk carried by said piston, means tor the admission of the fluid pressure to the extension of the cylinder, a port in said hollow piston rod or trunk on the non-working side of said piston, two ports in said hollow piston rod or trunk on the working side of said piston, a piston or sleeve valve working in the hollow piston rod or trunk and operating in conjunction with the ports in said rod or trunk to control the flow of the fluid pressure to and from the working end of the cylindcr, a centrifugal governor coupled to said ing a forced or pressure feed lubricating sys tem and two electric ignition systems the one a magneto and the other a battery and coil, the combination with said ignition systems of a cylinder having an extension at its rear end and an outlet in its front end, a piston working in said cylinder under the pressure of the forced lubricating system in one direction and under the pressure of a spring in the opposite direction, a hollow rod or trunk carried by said piston, a coupling between said rod or trunk and the t ming gear of the ignition system, means for the admission of the pressure of the forceddubricating system to. the extension of the cylinder, a port in said hollow piston rod or trunk on the nonworking side of said piston, two ports in. said hollow piston rod or trunk on the working side of said piston, a piston or sleeve valve working in the hollow piston rod or trunk and operating in conjunction with the ports in said rod or trunk to control the How of the fluid pressure to and from the working endof the cylinder, a centrifugal governor coupled to said piston o'rsleevc valve, mechanism for inter conuecting the timing devices of the two ignition systems, a coupling between the piston rod or trunk and said interconnecting mechanism, and means for controlling by hand the angle through which ignition can take place with either or both of said ignition systems.

(5. In an internal combustion engine having a pressure lubricating system and dual electric ignition systems the combination with the timing device or devices of said systems, of av cylinder having an extension at its rear end and an outlet in its frdnt end, a piston working in said cylinder under the pressure of the forced lubricating system in one direction and under the pressure of a spring in the opposite direction, a hollow rod or trunk carried by said piston. a coupling between said rod or trunk and the timing gear of the ignition system, means for the admission of the pressure of the forced lubricating system to the extension of the cylinder, a port in said hollow piston rod or trunk on the non-working side of said piston, two ports in said hollow piston rod or trunk on the working side of said piston, a piston or sleeve valve working in the hollow piston rod or trunk and operating in conjunction with the ports in said rod or trunk to control the flow of the fluid pres sure to and from the working end of the cylinder, a centrifugal governor coupled to said piston or sleeve valve, mechanism for inter-connecting the timing device or devices of the two ignition systems. a coupling between the rod or trunk and said in tor-connecting mechanism, means for controlling by hand the angle through which ignition can take, place, and means for automatically causing the piston in the cylinder to operate to retard the timing device or devices of the ignition systems it and when the pressure in the lubricating system fails.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name in the presence of two subscribing wit nesses.

FREDERICK HENRY ROYCE. W'itnesses:

SYDENHAM PAYN, S. ARMSJRONG PAYN. 

